Archive for the ‘Coffee Maker’ Category
Toastess, International
Toastess International produces small kitchen appliances. It offers coffee makers, kettles, toasters/oven, skillets/woks, grills, blenders/juicers, and specialty products as well as beverage products, food preparation, warming appliances, vacuum bag sealers, and replacement parts through online stores. In addition, it offers warmers, hotplates, and corn poppers.
First known as Toastess Inc., the company changed its name to Toastess International in 2000. The company has authorized service parts centers in the United States and Canada. Toastess International was founded in 1945 and is based in Markham, Canada. Toastess International is still a privately owned company and does not name any one person as the executive.
Lifestyles – The College Student
What does the college student, who lives in an apartment do besides go to classes, study and go to and from school? Those who drink something hot, but not necessarily coffee, a single coffee maker can still be a great choice. The Black and Decker Brew ‘N Go has a permanent coffee filter basket. It will hold coffee, hot chocolate, hot cider, tea and any instant soup mix and brew it into a 15 ounce stainless steel mug in less than three minutes.
Enjoy your friends and have them over for something to drink at this cold time of year. For hot chocolate or instant cider, you can heat the water in the coffee maker. Take out the filter basket and run the water through. You will have enough hot water for 2 cups and the instant cider in their cup, just add the water and stir. By the time they have stirred the first drink you will hot water ready in two minutes for more drinks.
You can also use this Black and Decker Brew ‘N Go coffee maker for hot water for hot oatmeal, Jell-o and more. P.S. This coffee maker will automatically shut off if it starts to boil dry.
LifeStyle – Texan Cowboy
A Man’s man isn’t afraid of hard work whether it is out in the field or working in the office. How he lives is his choice and he loves it and he is proud of it. He works a full day and then some. Yet, still makes time to have some fun once in a while.
This is the man who makes a full pot of dark roasted coffee. He is also the man who has a 12 cup coffee maker brewing every morning. Is this type of life style familiar to you? Let me know what I missed or added here that is not right. Dark roast coffee in a 12 cup programmable coffee maker starts a man off on schedule.
Lifestyles – Married and Both Working
You may be one of the most envied people, but not feel like it. Up at dawn to get ready for work and then off to the place of work. When you get home, you are both so tired that all you want to do is relax. I hear you, been there myself in a way.
My husband and I, at first, were both working and going to college full time. It seemed like all we did was go to school, then to work and study. Coffee makers were electric, but not programmable all that much and who could afford more than a basic coffee maker. Tuition, books, transportation to school, rent, utilities insurance and food were most important. Does this sound like you or close. There are possible solutions to your “rate race.” An inexpensive Toastess programmable coffeemaker that lasts a long time.
Happy New Year!!!
Hi, Everyone,
As always there are changes coming. But I thought I would start out the New Year letting you know about some of them.
Melitta has a few coffee makers, percolators and grinders left of the unique style that made disappear off the shelves faster we could keep them in stock. What few we got in after Christmas came with a notice they are discontinuing style. All they are saying at this point is that they are updating the style and the products themselves, which doesn’t tell us much.
Hamilton Beach is discontinuing some of its BrewStation models and adding some new ones. This will true with some of the other products as well.
If you are interested in a coffee maker or coffee that are currently on sale, I will be talking about the Good, Bad and Ugly on these products this week and the next. See you tomorrow!
Going…
Melitta Coffee Brewer – Gone
This Melitta Coffee Brewer is out of stock and discontinued. So, why am I writing about a discontinued product? The answer is an announcement of things to happen with the Melitta products. Melitta is making some changes in their entire line of Melitta products. When the present products are gone, they are gone for good. But, not the Melitta brand. They are going to update there products and create a newer style. Exactly what or how has not been revealed yet.
This is a warning, of sorts. If you are interested in any of the other products from Melitta you better get them now as they are going fast and the supply is shrinking.
Hamilton Beach 48464 BrewStation Summit Coffeemaker
When searching for quality that offers unquestionable values as well as a best deal, you surely reached this goal by selecting the Hamilton Beach 48464 Brewstation Summit 12 Cup Coffeemaker. Its control panel is stainless steel for added style. It also has everything the BrewStation® brand is famous for: one-hand dispensing for quick fill-ups and an insulated tank with gentle heater to keep coffee tasting fresh for hours. Your last cup tastes as fresh as the first.
This summit coffeemaker has versatile brewing options. Using your favorite coffee, you may choose bold for bolder coffee, regular for regular brewing, iced coffee when you want iced coffee and small batch options of 4 or more cups. The adjustable auto shut-off can be customized from 0 to 4 hours. The programmable clock-timer allows you to start your coffee brewing anytime of the day or night. And, there is not hot plate to scorch the coffee or break a glass carafe.
This Hamilton Beach Summit Brewstation coffee maker weighs less than 12 pounds and it comes with a one year manufacturer’s limited warranty.
Hamilton Beach BrewStation® Summit
This Hamilton Beach 48463 BrewStation® Summit 12 Cup Coffeemaker has been available for two years and remains a favorite. It has an insulated tank that helps prevent heat and flavor from escaping so that it will keep your coffee fresh. The insulated tank acts as a thermos so that your coffee stays fresher longer. There is no need for a hot plate to scorch your coffee flavor.
This coffee maker has versatile brewing that allows you to choose from bold, regular, iced coffee or a small-batch of coffee. This BrewStation has one-hand dispensing that eliminates spills while pouring. The adjustable auto shutoff can be customized for the hours you want the coffee to keep warm from 0-4 hours.
The BrewStation is also programmable clock/timer so that you can have your cup of coffee ready when you want ahead of time. This brew station weighs less than 9 pounds and comes with a 1 year limited manufacturers warranty from date of purchase and a 5 star rating from previous buyers of this product.
How Energy Efficient is Your Coffee Maker?
When it comes to coffee makers, the amount of energy one uses may surprise you. While EnergyStar and Consumer Reports do not show the energy consumption of coffee makers, there is another way to know their consumption of electricity. Look at their wattage use before you buy. Energy consumption is based on the amount of watts it uses per hour.
Low wattage drip coffee makers use between 650 watts 975 watts per hour. This equates to 20 watts and 32.5 watts per two-minute brewing time. Many of these are one cup size makers that brew into a mug or thermal container.
Medium wattage coffee makers include programmable ones that use between 1,000 and 1,200 watts per hour. This equates to 34 watts and 40 watts per two-minute brewing time. The programmable clock itself uses an additional 10 watts per hour continuously; this adds an extra 240 watts of usage per day. Some of these coffee makers also have warmers to keep the coffee warm for up to two hours when it shuts off automatically. These warmers whether a plate or a self-contained coffee warmer use between 20 and 25 watts per hour. At 25 watts per hour, the utilization is 50 watts of energy each time the warmers are used for a two hour period.
An electric super automatic grind espresso machine that maintains a stable brew temperature uses up to 5,850 watts per hour. A two minute espresso made on this machine uses 195 watts in two minutes time. From a simple 800 watt pump machine to the super automatic grind espresso there are great differences in the amount of watts used per hour. These differences in energy consumption are not necessarily different because of the type of espresso machine. French presses use boiling water with ground coffee to make a darker and more intense brew. A
French press may seem energy-efficient, but an electric tea kettle when used to boil water utilizes from 1000 to 1800 watts. This is far more wattage use than most regular coffee makers. At 1800 watts it may be fast, but for the two minutes of run time it will use 60 watts while an 800 watts simple coffee maker uses about 27 watts for the same length of time. When using an electric stove top tea kettle the energy utilization is greater than the coffee maker, but less than the electric tea kettle. A modern electric stove top burner utilizes 1400 watts per hour and takes about two minutes for fully boiling water. This means the burner utilizes about 47 watts in two-minutes.
Tips on How to Fix a Broken Coffee Maker
Before trying to fix a broken drip coffee maker, check to see if your warranty is still valid. If it is no longer valid, check the light switch to see if the light turns on and off. This lets you know whether or not electricity is going through the power cord. This also means that if the light works there is a problem further on in the coffee maker. If it is not heating these first steps are most important. Make sure your coffee maker is unplugged, is on a dry surface, in a place where there is good lighting, the reservoir is empty and the spent grounds have been removed.
The next thing to do after this simple check is to consider what tools may be needed. This would include an appropriate sized flat bladed screwdriver, a circuit probe or multi-meter on the ohm setting and the owner’s manual.
Depending on whether the coffee maker is made of metal or plastic will make a difference on how you get the bottom off. A metal one will require removing screws from the bottom plate. For a plastic one, you will need to put the screwdriver in a crack and wedge it with force until the back wall and the bottom come apart. Turn the coffee maker upside down and look at the wiring.
Now you can follow the electrical cords from the two power switch terminal ends. Using a circuit probe or multi-meter, you can find out whether there is a continual flow, which is a closed circuit. If the circuit has a broken connection, known as an open circuit, then the following parts may need replacing. This includes the terminal where the off-on switch is located and the wires that connect to the thermostat and heating element.
You need to also check to see if there is a problem in the thermostat or in the heating element. Using the circuit probe or multi-meter, check for connectivity through the thermostat. If the problem was with the coffee not getting hot enough or if the coffee warmer did not keep the coffee hot, the probe or multi-meter will show only slight connectivity; this means that the thermostat definitely needs to be replaced. To change the thermostat, remove the connectors and replace the new thermostat by reconnecting the connectors.
Before you begin to take the coffee maker apart, check for coffee and mineral deposit buildup. If you have not been cleaning your coffee maker on a regular basis, you could have a lime buildup in the water-line. This can cause the unit to stop working. Use white vinegar to clean your coffee maker on a regular basis. When you begin to clean your coffee maker check for loose fitting tube connections and make sure they are fully connected. Next, put white vinegar equal to the amount of water you normally put in for a full amount of coffee. Run the brewing process without a filter in the filter basket. Rinse the carafe if you are using one. Then, run the brew cycle again with clean water. Dry the filter basket and carafe and any place you can see that is wet. Now you are ready to brew a much better tasting cup of coffee. You will be surprised by how much better your coffeemaker runs as well as how great the coffee tastes.